


Day One Hundred Forty-Nine || Baseball

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [149]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Sports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 18:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19025494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When Naruto announces he's gotten Sakura to come watch their next baseball game, Sasuke just finds himself annoyed...until Hinata also invites herself along.





	Day One Hundred Forty-Nine || Baseball

Another day, another block of practice.

Baseball is the only sport Sasuke’s ever played. His brother before him had excelled in soccer, and - not wanting to be directly compared to his brother, who can do no wrong - Sasuke chose another sport. And, like Itachi, he’s excelled in his chosen game.

And now, it’s his senior year...and all he can think about this Spring is getting to the State finals and finally taking the championship cup. Because as hard as his team works, and as good as he is (alongside many of the other players), they just haven’t quite made it that far.

After all, he’s seen the recruiters for college teams hanging around the practice field, and at their games, talking with the coach. If he could get a scholarship for baseball...he’d be over the moon.

Hence why he never misses a single practice. It’s made juggling homework a bit of a hassle, but he hopes - in the end - work on both aspects will serve him well.

“Oi, Sasuke!”

Looking up from his mitt he’s been contemplating as he thinks, the Uchiha jostles as Naruto swings an arm over his shoulders. “What?”

“Ready for the game on Saturday?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. You?” 

“Duh! Hey, guess what!” Naruto takes a step back, hands curled under his chin as his eyes go starry. “Sakura agreed to come watch!”

“Did she now?” Sasuke asks boredly, flexing his glove experimentally. 

“Yeah! If we win, I’m gonna ask her on a date!”

“...and?”

“Whaddaya mean, ‘and’?”

“You ask her on dates all the time,” Sasuke retorts, seeing his friend stiffen. “What makes this any different?”

“Cuz...cuz she’ll see how awesome I am! If we win, she’ll be so impressed, there’s no  _ way _ she’d say no!”

“Whatever you say.” In all honesty, Sasuke would be glad for it. The day Sakura gives up trying to get  _ him _ to date her, he’ll be a very happy man.

Their practice isn’t very heavy given the game the following day, so the pair shower and make to head home a bit early. On the way through, they pass the tennis courts, still occupied by students.

Glancing nonchalantly through the chain link fence, Sasuke searches for a moment before spotting her.

Sporting a matching lilac and white tank and shorts, Hinata Hyūga faces him, focused on her practice match against an upperclassmen he vaguely recognizes as some chick named Tenten. A visor sits over her brow to shade her eyes, long hair up in a high tail, bouncing slightly in anticipation for her opponent’s serve.

“Man, tennis seems like it’d be a pain, right?”

“Huh?” Glancing back to his friend, Sasuke breaks his stare.

“I mean, it’s got so much...leg work!”

“So does baseball when you’re on the field.”

“But not as consistently! Depends on where the ball goes. Here? You can’t escape the damn ball! Imagine having to bat, like...the whole game! Over and over again!”

“Guess that’s why tennis is tennis, and baseball is baseball, idiot.”

“M’just sayin’, you gotta be tough to do tennis! I mean, imagine how much more ripped Sakura would be if she played this instead of softball!”

There’s a silent hint of pride in Sasuke’s mind at the comparison. After all, he’s pretty much saying someone like Hinata is tougher than someone like Sakura.

And given that Sasuke’s been crushing on Hinata for all of high school, and detesting Sakura...that makes him very happy indeed.

But it  _ does _ puzzle him a bit. Sure, Sakura’s lithe and sinewy - she’s hardly got an ounce of fat on her (which, yes, means hardly any hips or chest). Hinata, on the other hand...is so soft. She’s heavier set than Sakura despite - as Naruto says - playing what seems like a more intense sport.

Of course, that’s not all that plays into a person’s build, he supposes. And while Hinata also plays volleyball in the Fall, Sakura does that,  _ and _ does swimming in the Winter.

But - personally speaking - he’d rather have a girlfriend who’s soft than one all...boney and tough.

Which only makes it all the more disappointing that Hinata happens to be rather fond of a certain blond idiot he knows.

_ Why _ the girls can’t just...swap their affections, he’ll never know. Surely everyone would be a lot happier.

The coach then calls for a break, and the players all relax. Heaving a weary sigh, Hinata takes a swig from a purple water bottle before noticing that they have an audience. Her face brightens.

And it kills him that it’s not because she sees  _ him _ . It’s because of Naruto.

Crossing the court, she flashes a smile, cheeks a bit pink. “H-hey guys!”

“Hey Hinata,” Naruto greets, tone a bit awkward as always. He’s aware of the Hyūga girl’s crush, and...to put it bluntly, it makes him squirm whenever he has to talk to her.

“Hey,” Sasuke offers, trying his best to keep his own voice cool. So far - at least, from what he can tell - no one’s noticed his own bias when it comes to the awkward love square that the four teens have found themselves in.

Hinata’s fingers cling to the fence. “I h-heard you guys have a game tomorrow!”

“Yeah! Tomorrow at two!”

“Maybe...I could come watch?”

Naruto winces ever so slightly. “Uh...yeah, sure! Sakura’s gonna go, so...you guys could, like...sit together! Or something!”

At the mention of the rosette, Hinata deflates ever so slightly.

He  _ hates it _ .

“Oh...o-okay!”

“What about you?”

“Eh?”

Shifting a bit, Sasuke asks again. “When’s your next tennis match?”

“Oh...um, we have away games on Tuesday. B-but then we have a home game next Saturday! You...you could come watch, if - if you want?”

“Aw man, Sakura’s got a game that day,” Naruto laments, but Sasuke knows he’s anything but disappointed. “Hey, maybe next time!”

“O-oh! Y-yeah, sure!” Hinata gives a smile, clearly forced.

“I’d go.”

Both Hinata and Naruto turn to him curiously. “You...you would?”

“Sure.”

“But Sasuke, what about Sakura’s game?” Naruto counters with a frown.

“I’ve seen her play before. Never seen a tennis match.”

Something shifts in Hinata’s expression - a mix of genuine surprise, and...something else he can’t place. “I...I would like that. No one, um...no one really comes to...to watch me play.”

“What?” Naruto frowns. “What about your dad?”

“He...he’s busy,” Hinata deflects, waving a hand.

“And your sister?”

“She, um...she’s got a lot of homework. Middle school’s a lot h-harder nowadays.”

Sasuke’s brows furrow just a hair.

“B-but, um...it would be neat to have a...a friend come watch!” Hinata smiles again, and he can tell it’s more genuine this time around. “You - you have fun at Sakura’s game, Naruto. Maybe you can catch the n-next one.”

Behind her, the coach warns their break is nearly over, and she looks over her shoulder. “Well...I better get back to it.”

“Yeah - see ya around, Hinata!” Waving, Naruto takes off at a jog.

Sasuke watches him go, not quite in such a hurry.

“Um…”

Turning back, he sees Hinata hesitate.

“You...you don’t have to go if you d-don’t want to. To my match, I-I mean. I wasn’t...trying to guilt anyone into it...”

“I  _ do  _ want to go.”

“You...you do?”

“Yeah, I do.”

The same shade of surprise pulls at her face. 

Feeling she’s wanting an explanation, Sasuke glances aside, trying to play it off. “Like I said, never watched tennis before. But I already play baseball - kinda boring to watch softball. Besides...Naruto’s the one who likes Sakura. I don’t want to steal his thunder. He already managed to drag her to the game tomorrow.”

“Oh...y-yeah.” Her eyes turn downcast for a moment. 

“...you ever consider that you deserve to use your time on someone who wants to use their time on you?”

The question makes her jump. “I...w-what?”

“Naruto. I think you and I both know he’s not interested. So why do you keep doing this to yourself?”

For a moment she looks scandalized, not expecting to be asked such a thing. “...I…” Clearly thinking over his words, she slowly goes slack with a kind of understanding.

Someone...who wants to use their time on her? Does he mean like -?

“...nevermind,” Sasuke mutters, shouldering his duffle bag. “See you at the game tomorrow.”

“B-but -?”

Looking frustrated with himself, Sasuke doesn’t answer, leaving the courts to head for home.

...he just royally screwed that up, didn’t he? He’s such an  _ idiot _ -

“Sasuke!”

Startling, he turns to see Hinata jogging up behind him. “What -?”

“I...I w-wanted to say thank you.”

“...for?”

“For, um…” Hesitating, she worries her fingertips for a moment. “For...saying you’ll go to my game.” Another pause. “...for...using your time on me.”

Connecting her words to his, he stiffens, going a light shade of pink.

She watches his expression, clearly making connections of her own. “...see you tomorrow.”

“...y-yeah.” Watching her retreat to the courts, Sasuke just...blinks. Did...did she just…?

...well...one more reason to win tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> ...I actually like this one a lot xD I was never the sporty kid in school - I was the artsy, musicky, theatery kid, haha! So a lot of this is pretty foreign to me, but...I tried, lol
> 
> Gotta love the good ol' fashioned love square of team seven + Hinata. While I'm not the biggest shipper of NaruSaku, it just sort of...makes sense when put alongside SasuHina. At least, imo - hence why I tend to use it as a foil for them! But it's not high school without some kind of relationship drama, right? Even in my teeny tiny high schools of like 100 people, seems there was always some kind of dating fiasco going on xD Ah, the good ol' days lol
> 
> Anyway, it's VERY late, and I need to get more sleep than I did last night, eh heh...but, thanks for reading!


End file.
